The Year of Jubilee
The Jubilee (Hebrew: יובל yovel) year (every 50th year) and the Sabbatical year (every seventh year) are Biblical commandments concerning ownership of land and slaves.
The celebration of the Jubilee is the fiftieth year, that is, the year after seven Sabbatical cycles. Jubilee was to recognize that by God’s Command, all property belongs to God, not the individual Jew. For the Obsersant Jew, returning of possessions to God was/is a religious vow or dedication.
And there are numerous commands given in the Scriptures: Leviticus 25:
1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
2 “Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them: ‘When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.
— Sabbath of the Seventh Year; the land not to be tilled, but rest the seventh year; and that which grew of itself in the field or vineyard to be meat for them and their cattle, Leviticus 25:1-7. The jubilee on the day of atonement; a year of liberty and restoration; a year of rest to the land;
3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof, — the land shall keep a sabbath; that is, enjoy rest from ploughing and tilling; unto the Lord; in obedience and unto the honour of God;
— this was instituted, for the assertion of God’s sovereign right to the land, in which the Israelites were but only tenants at God’s will;
4 but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord; thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard. — a Sabbath of rest; the express prohibition of sowing and reaping, and of pruning and gathering;
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed; for it is a year of rest unto the land.
— that which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap; that which sprung up of itself from grains of corn, shed in the harvest of the preceding year, without any ploughing or sowing;
— he might reap it, but not as at other times, the whole of it, and gather it as his own property, but only somewhat of it in common with others for his, present use;
6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you: for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger who sojourneth with thee;
— for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid; the owner of the fields and vineyards, he and his family, wife, children, and servants, might eat of the fruits of them in common with others; for whereas it is elsewhere said, Exodus 23:11, “that the poor of thy people may eat”; but this is observed here, lest anyone should think the rich are forbid eating them;
— Rashi:
And [the produce of] the Sabbath of the land, shall be [yours to eat]: Although I have prohibited the produce [of the Shemittah year] to you, I did not prohibit you to eat it or to derive benefit from it, only that you should not treat it as if you were its owner. Rather, everyone is deemed equal [regarding the use of the Shemittah year’s produce]-you, [your slaves,] and your hired worker and resident.
7 and for thy cattle and for the beasts that are in thy land shall all the increase thereof be meat. — and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land; the former signifies tame cattle, such as were kept at home, or in fields, or were used in service, and the latter the wild beasts of the field;
8 “‘And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. — in the day of Atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land;
— on the tenth day of the month, and a very proper time it was to sound the trumpet, that after they had been afflicting themselves, then to have joy and comfort; and when atonement was made for all their sins, then to hear the joyful sound;
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
— ye shall hallow the fiftieth year; much difference of opinion exists as to whether the jubilee was observed on the forty-ninth, or in round numbers, it is called the fiftieth. The prevailing opinion, both in ancient and modern times, has been in favor of the latter;
— it is expressly called the fiftieth year here, and Leviticus 25:11, that fiftieth year, which was not true if it is but the nine and fortieth year;
11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
— two years would come together in which were no sowing reaping; but that God, that could cause the earth to forth fruit for three years, Leviticus 25:21; could make it bring forth enough for four years;
12 For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
— ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field; that is, ye shall eat its produce from the field; because it is the jubilee, which must be observed as a sacred institution, the spontaneous produce of this year is not to be stored, but as much of it must each time be taken direct from the field as is wanted for daily consumption.
13 “‘In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. — in the year of jubile every man is to be restored to his landed property, whether he had disposed of it by sale or by gift;
14 And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbor or buyest aught of thy neighbor’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another.
— not only does the Law provide against the poor man losing his land for ever, but enjoins that in the temporary sales the buyer and seller are not to take undue advantage of each other’s circumstances.
15 According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy from thy neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee.
— the promised land was to be divided by lot among the Israelites; the plot which should thus come into the possession of each family is to be absolutely inalienable, and for ever continue to be the property of the descendants of the original possessor;
16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it; for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another, but thou shalt fear thy God; for I am the Lord your God. — that is; ye shall not overreach any man his neighbour; for I am the Lord your God; omniscient and omnipotent and able to punish, which of them either should oppress or defraud;
— from MSG
“What you are buying and selling in fact is the number of crops you’re going to harvest. Don’t cheat each other. Fear your God. I am God, your God.” (Leviticus 25:14-17 MSG)
“If you sell or buy property from one of your countrymen, don’t cheat him. Calculate the purchase price on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee.
“He is obliged to set the sale price on the basis of the number of harvests remaining until the next Jubilee. The more years left, the more money; you can raise the price. But the fewer years left, the less money; decrease the price.
18 “‘Therefore ye shall do My statutes, and keep My judgments and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
19 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill and dwell therein in safety.
20 And if ye shall say, “What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow nor gather in our increase.”
21 Then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
23 The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me.
— for the land is mine; as indeed the whole earth is, but the land of Canaan was peculiarly God’s, which he had chosen above all other lands for the inheritance of his people; out of which he drove the old inhabitants of it for their sins, and put in his own people to possess it under him;
24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
25 “‘If thy brother waxeth poor and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and he himself is able to redeem it,
27 then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it, that he may return unto his possession.
28 But if he is not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. Leviticus 25:1-28
— not able to restore it to him; that is, if the vendor is unable to return to the purchaser the probable value of the crops between the contemplated redemption and the next jubile year;
— from MSG
“If one of your brothers becomes poor and has to sell any of his land, his nearest relative is to come and buy back what his brother sold.
“If a man has no one to redeem it but he later prospers and earns enough for its redemption, he is to calculate the value since he sold it and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back to his own land.
“If he doesn’t get together enough money to repay him, what he sold remains in the possession of the buyer until the year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee it will be returned and he can go back and live on his land.” (Leviticus 25:25-28)
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 